Shinji Ikari
Shinji Ikari"Ikari" means "anchor" in Japanese, but written in different Kanji, it can also mean "anger". is the Third Child, and the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. He is the son of "deceased" Gehirn bioengineer Yui Ikari and NERV Commander (formerly Chief of Gehirn) Gendo Ikari. After his mother's death, he was abandoned by his father and lived for 11 years with his sensei, until he was summoned to Tokyo-3 to pilot Eva-01 against the Angels. He lives initially just with Misato Katsuragi; they are later joined by Asuka Langley Soryu. Story ]] At the age of three, Shinji lost his mother to the Eva-01 Contact Experiment. As he witnessed this event, he was subjected to considerable trauma that had lingering effects upon him. At the age of five, he took up playing the cello, and according to Asuka, he has quite some talent for it.Shinji seems to be downplaying his talent. Despite his downplaying in episode 15, he can play Bach's Suite No. 1 Prelude in G major, BWV 1007, which is not a beginner level piece. "They represent an enormous body of work, taking over three hours to play in one sitting. They also represent a huge and never ending challenge for any cellist. Like so much of Bach's solo works for any instrument, the easier movements can be begun at an early stage, but some movements will be a source of stress for the rest of your life." (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1372154) He still plays now and again, because, "No one told him to stop." Despite his obvious ability to pick up on things quickly, Shinji has never learned to swim.Episode 16 Episodes 25 and 26 have Shinji feeling lost and begging for others to help him. Much of the TV ending is devoted to Shinji being taught by the other characters about the ability of individuals to make their own destiny by reshaping their viewpoint. In episode 26', Shinji chooses to reject Instrumentality for individual existence, even though it will be painful. He learned that he wanted real feelings even if he would be betrayed and hurt again, because fleeing from that reality brought him no happiness. This might suggest that, buried deep in Shinji, is the capacity for redemption and change. Personality Shinji initially shows a passive and laid-back personality, inheriting such traits from his relaxed life with his sensei. When he is told to pilot Eva-01, he does so without questioning it, choosing simply to go along with what everyone else says. Though Shinji denies it, he yearns for praise, and he eventually begins to pilot Eva-01 to gain the approval and praise of others, as well as the love of his father. He also continually tells himself "I mustn't run away!""I mustn't run away!", or "Nigecha dameda!" in Japanese, is one of Shinji's trademark lines, starting in episode 1. According to Hideaki Anno, this phrase inspired him to keep working on and finish Evangelion., further demonstrating his perceived need to move forward. Shinji shows a great fear of emotional pain and of being hated or left behind, likely due to his perception of being abandoned in his youth and, subsequently, blaming himself for not being good enough to make his father stick around. In general, Shinji is shown to be quite introverted due to having little to no meaningful contact with others. In social party situations, he is shown to be quite uncomfortable, and he often has difficulty controlling his emotions around others. He is shown to the extreme of this, forsaking many lives to save one person in multiple situations. Due to Shinji's fragile emotional state, he chooses to shut out the world, as evidenced by the headphones he wears rather often, plugged into an SDAT music player. He usually plays tracks 25 ("You Are the Only One") and 26 ("Blue Legend"), though in episodes 2 and 23, the songs are varied to different background music and vocals. Through all this, Shinji is also aware of his own faults, and generally is outwardly gentle and compassionate. He is the only one who tries to find a reason to fight the Angels, and sometimes his justification for fleeing from piloting is to avoid hurting others. Appearance In some episodes, Shinji is seen wearing a shirt that says "XTC" on the back, referring to a real-world band of the same name, who does a lot of New Wave covers associated with Evangelion. Relationships Gendo Gendo abandoned Shinji shortly after Yui disappeared into Eva-01, sending him to live with his sensei. Shinji resents Gendo for this, despite having run away from Gendo the last time they spoke, three years before, the last time they visited Yui's grave.Episode 15 In episode 1, Shinji shows Misato the letter his father sent, summoning him to Tokyo-3. The entirety of the letter is blanked out, except for the handwritten words, "Come. — Gendo Ikari". Nonetheless, Shinji still longs for words of praise from Gendo.Episode 12 Misato After moving to Tokyo-3, Shinji lives with Misato in her small apartment with her pet penguin. He disapproves of her lifestyle of beer, snacks, and instant meals, and shows an obvious fright toward Misato's perceived attraction to him. However, Misato shows that she has deep respect and regard for Shinji, breaking to tears after she thought he was lost to the Angel Leliel. Asuka Shinji is attracted to Asuka, though the reasoning is not explicitly stated. It might be that her bullying sometimes causes Shinji to bite back at her, and he views Asuka, in a strange fashion, as a source of strength, one that he misses when Asuka is laid low by her encounter with Arael. However, Shinji directly expresses his feelings for Asuka by trying to kiss her as she sleepsEpisode 09, when he masturbated at the accidental exposure of the then-comatose girl's breastsEpisode 26', and in the episode 26' pre-instrumentality sequence when he says "I want to help you somehow and be with you forever." Kaji Shinji looks up to Kaji as a sort of mentor, and accepts behavior in him that he would disapprove of in other characters. For instance, in Episode 08 when Kaji asks him about Misato's sleeping habits, implying that Shinji and Misato might be in a sexual relationship and simultaneously implying that he is intimately familiar with these habits as well, Shinji just laughs. If anyone else asked him that same question he would probably have stuttered with embarrassment, barely able to get out a denial. Kaworu Though fans have speculated on the exact nature of Shinji's relationship with Kaworu, it is at least clear that Kaworu represented a sort of idealized friend-figure to Shinji, granting his wish for someone to understand him and treat him well. Shinji also found himself confessing his own emotions to Kaworu, talking about things he hadn't had with anyone else. This, paired with the fact that Shinji had killed what he saw as a human being, was part of what drove Shinji into his state of absolute despair in episode 25', in which he declared that he felt unworthy even of the piloting which had consumed his identity, thinking that if all he did was hurt and kill others, it was better to do nothing. By that, though, he may have condemned Asuka, who was fighting against the Mass Production Evangelions, to death. Others Shinji is friends with Tōji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida. He is sometimes confused by their more typical teenage male behavior and by Kensuke's burning desire to be an Evangelion pilot. Other media Manga adaptation The manga version of Shinji Ikari is significantly different from his anime depiction. In the manga, Shinji has the same issues with his abandonment, but shows these traits in a much more troubled manner, sometimes even turning physically violent, even attempting to hit his father. He is also something of a smart-alec and slightly more forward and cynical when it comes to dealing with others, for instance mentally thinking of Asuka as a "bitch" and displaying an intense hatred towards her unseen in the anime. Fan opinion of this characterization is mixed, with some preferring the manga Shinji because he has more of a "backbone", more like a typical hero. However, other fans feel that removing Shinji's neurotic anti-hero aspects makes him less human and harder to relate to. In the manga, Shinji lived with an aunt and uncle instead of with his sensei before going to Nerv. It is unstated which side of the family these relatives are from. Throughout the majority of the manga, Shinji appears to be attracted to Rei Ayanami, and their relationship is far more developed than in the anime. However, after the death of Kaworu, Shinji visits Asuka in the hospital, similar to in The End of Evangelion. He confesses his love to her in a way, claiming, "The Asuka I want to protect isn't this empty shell!" However, instead of shaking her and revealing her body, Asuka wakes up, and chokes Shinji, until she is subdued by the nurses. This suggests that Shinji's manga adaptation has feelings for Asuka as well. Other Evangelion-based mangas The Shinji Ikari Raising Project manga portrays Shinji as acting more like his manga counterpart since he's more confident about himself. Shinji here also is something of a pervert, which goes along with Shinji's personality in the possible world sequence of episode 26 as well as Girlfriend of Steel 2 video game Shinji. In the Girlfriend of Steel 2 manga, however, Shinji acts like his anime self, to the point where he doesn't have the perverted side of his personality that the video game shows. He also still acts shy and introverted around others, although he's friendly. ''Rebuild of Evangelion'' smiling at Rei after Operation Yashima.]] Shinji in Rebuild of Evangelion, while mostly the same as his anime counterpart, comes across as somewhat more angry about his situation (although he isn't outwardly angry like his manga counterpart with Sadamoto's take on the series). For instance, he calls Misato and other members of Nerv as being selfish that he's "left feeling scared" when he and Rei have to pilot during the Operation Yashima battle. Somewhat similar to his feelings in The End of Evangelion, Shinji realizes that he "has no freedom" and "has no choice but to pilot Eva" when he attempts to run away from Nerv after the fifth Angel battle. Although he decides to stay in Tokyo-3 instead of leaving like in episode 4 of the series, Shinji can't help but feel that he's only needed for piloting Eva and that nobody truly cares for him. These feelings are dissolved to an extent when Misato shows Shinji the Angel identified as Lilith in Terminal Dogma, explaining to him why he and the rest of Nerv have to do what they can to prevent Third Impact from happening. He agrees to pilot Evangelion Unit-01 once more, and together with Rei Ayanami in Evangelion Unit-00, the sixth Angel is eventually defeated during the Operation Yashima battle. Shinji's relationships with the other characters in Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone are similar to those in the series. A difference with his relationships towards Misato Katsuragi and Rei Ayanami, however, is that he is somewhat physically close to them as the film progresses. When Misato shows Shinji Lilith, Shinji lets Misato hold his hand. Also, when Shinji checks on Rei in her Entry Plug after Ramiel's defeat, the two hold hands as Rei smiles at him. As the story advances into Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, Shinji is somewhat more accustomed to living in Tokyo-3. His friendship with Toji and Kensuke is a solid one (due to them becoming friends in the first film) and he has occasional conversations (as well as smiling around) Rei. Shinji also becomes friends (and additionally roommates) with Asuka Langley Shikinami, but so far shows no romantic interest in either pilot. Shinji briefly meets Mari Illustrious Makinami twice during the film, but he knows nothing of her, save for a few verbal exchanges. During lunch with his friends at a marine preservation institute, Shinji mentions that he learned to cook meals because Misato didn't know how to. He makes lunches for Misato, Asuka, as well as Rei during the film. Shinji hopes to get along with his father and is happy when Gendo praises him after the eighth Angel attack. Shinji is unaware that Rei tried to surprise him by inviting Gendo to a dinner party. The plans for the party were cut short, however, by the ninth Angel's attack. After Shinji's inability to fight the Bardiel-possessed Eva-03 which carried Asuka, Gendo activates the Dummy System, which tears the Eva to pieces and prompts Shinji to leave Nerv. He only returns after encountering Mari and seeing the tenth Angel devour Eva-00. Shinji pilots Eva-01 to save Rei from the Angel's core. He embraces Rei and thanks her for her efforts of trying to get Gendo and Shinji on good terms. Shinji's decision to save Rei awakens Eva-01's pseudo-evolution and causes Near Third Impact, only to be halted by Kaworu's intervention, spearing Eva-01's core. Shinji and Rei are said to be trapped inside Eva-01 during the Evangelion 3.0 Next Time Preview. Trivia *According to an interview with Yoshiyuki Sadamoto featured in volume 2 of the manga, Shinji's design is a male version of Sadamoto's design for Nadia, the title character from Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, which Hideaki Anno also directed. *Shinji's birthday is the same day as his seiyu Megumi Ogata. This is a trait that can be found in several of the Evangelion characters, Rei Ayanami being an exception. Notes and references Category:Character Category:Eva Pilot Category:NERV